English Hills resident bitten by rattlesnake

A rattlesnake bite hospitalized a Vacaville man Monday evening after he was bitten on the foot while walking on his English Hills property, officials said.

The unidentified 61-year-old was wearing sandals when he went to water the garden outside his home in the 3900 block of Ciarlo Lane p.m. and encountered a baby rattler just after 6 p.m., said Vacaville Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Boyd Clegg.

The snake, which Clegg estimated was about 6 inches long, bit the victim's right foot, causing it to begin swelling almost immediately. By the time emergency crews arrived less than 15 minutes later, the victim's foot had doubled in size.

The victim was loaded into an ambulance to be taken to Vaca Valley Hospital for treatment, as curious neighbors stopped to investigate the commotion. The snake was placed in a bag and taken in the ambulance along with the victim, in order to match the venom as closely as possible.

"Everybody reacts differently," Clegg said, regarding the severity of rattlesnake bites. "It can be very dangerous (especially) if it's a child or small animal. It all depends on their reaction and what their body does with it.

"We see a lot of rattlesnakes, but it's not really frequent that we see rattlesnake bites," he added, though noting that such encounters are not unheard of.

Further information regarding the victim's condition was unavailable as of press time.